The instant invention relates generally to inflatable seals and more particularly to an inflatable seal for sealing the area between the perimeter of an opening in a wall of a building and the body of a vehicle received in the opening. A number of inflatable seals, of the general type commonly referred to as dock seals, have heretofore been available for sealing the areas between the walls of buildings and the bodies of vehicles when the vehicles are positioned adjacent the exteriors of the buildings, and particularly adjacent loading docks or the like in the building walls. The most common dock seals of this general type have been provided for use in connection with truck loading docks for the purpose of permitting workmen to work under the various types of controlled atmospheric conditions which can be provided in the interiors of buildings during the loading and unloading of trucks. More specifically, it has been generally known to provide an inflatable dock seal which extends outwardly from an exterior building wall around the perimeter of a loading dock opening therein for yieldably engaging the rear end of a tractor-trailer truck adjacent the loading dock for providing a seal between the truck and the building wall. Accordingly, the seal permits a controlled atmosphere associated with the interior of the building to be communicated to the interior of the trailer portion of the truck during loading and unloading operations. Dock seals of this type have been important from the standpoint of preserving the quality of perishable goods, as well as from the standpoint of providing increased comfort for workmen loading and/or unloading trucks. However, none of the heretofore known seals of this general type have been operable or adaptable for use in sealing the area between the perimeter of an opening in a wall of a building and a vehicle which is actually received in the opening so that a portion of the vehicle extends therethrough.
A variety of dock seals of the type constructed for use in connection with loading docks have heretofore been available, and in this regard reference is made to O'Neal U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,303,615; 3,391,502; 3,391,503; and 3,714,745; and Ouellet U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,103. While these references teach a variety of inflatable dock-seal constructions that represent the closest prior art to the instant invention of which the applicant is aware, they do not teach an inflatable seal which is operable for sealing the area around the body of a vehicle received in an opening in a building wall, or an inflatable seal which has the unique structural features of the seal of the instant invention as will hereinafter be made apparent. Hence, these references are believed to be of nothing more than general interest with respect to the seal of the instant invention.
The instant invention addresses and provides a unique solution for the problem of providing a seal between the perimeter of an opening in a building wall and the body of a vehicle, wherein the vehicle body is received through the opening so that a portion of the vehicle is disposed within the building, and the remainder of the vehicle is disposed on the outside thereof. The seal of the instant invention has particular application in the aircraft industry where it is often necessary to perform repairs on huge aircraft such as jumbo jets. The massive sizes of these vehicles frequently makes it impractical for them to be moved into hangars for repair work. On the other hand, weather conditions frequently make it impractical or even impossible to perform the necessary repair work outdoors. For these reasons, there is a need for providing a system whereby only a portion of an airplane can be received in a hangar, and wherein an effective weatherproof seal is provided between the walls of the fuselage of the plane and an opening in a wall of the hanger through which the plane is received. In this regard, it has been found that by providing a hangar wherein a wall thereof includes slidable door panels which are constructed so that when they are in the closed positions thereof they cooperate to define an opening in the wall which is configured and dimensioned to be received around the fuselage of an airplane at a particular point in the extent thereof, an airplane can be partially received in the hangar so that it extends through the opening in the wall and so that a portion of the plane is disposed within the hangar and the remainder of the plane is disposed outside thereof. However, while systems of this general type have been heretofore known, they have been less than satisfactory, because they have not included effective means for sealing the open area between the perimeter of the opening defined by the hangar doors and the fuselage of the plane. Specifically, the known systems of this general type have included various types of foam-rubber seals for this purpose, all of which have been unsatisfactory. In this connection, a foam-rubber seal inherently has a limited degree of compressibility; and as it is compressed it gradually becomes firmer until it reaches the limit of its compressibility. As a result, it can only be used to compensate for very minor variations in the dimensions of the open area between the perimeter of an opening and the wall of a plane. Since aircraft, particularly jumbo jets, are huge pieces of machinery, it is not always possible to precisely orient them in the desired locations; and since even slight misalignments of aircraft cannot normally be accommodated with foam-rubber seals, open areas have frequently been experienced in the known seal systems. Furthermore, these conditions can even exist when aircraft are precisely aligned and oriented in hangars, since the degrees of loading of the planes can substantially affect their vertical dispositions. Accordingly, even if planes are precisely oriented in hangars, open areas have existed in foam-rubber seals around the planes because of the different degrees of loading thereof which are possible.
The instant invention provides a novel device for sealing the open area between the perimeter of an opening in the wall of a building, such as defined by a pair of doors, and the periphery of a vehicle body received in the opening. In particular, the instant invention provides a novel seal for sealing the open area around the fuselage of an airplane when the airplane is received in a hangar in the manner hereinabove described. However, in contrast to the hereinabove described foam-rubber seals heretofore available for this purpose, the inflatable seal of the instant invention effectively compensates for minor misalignments in the position of an aircraft, as well as for various degrees of loading thereof.
The inflatable seal of the instant invention is constructed for mounting in an opening in a wall of a building wherein the opening is dimensioned and configured for receiving a portion of a vehicle body therethrough with the walls of the body in relatively closely spaced relation to the perimeter of the opening. The seal of the instant invention generally comprises a flexible inflatable member mounted on the wall of the building adjacent the perimeter of the opening, the member being inflatable from a deflated or collapsed position to an inflated or expanded disposition wherein it projects inwardly into the opening for sealing engagement with the outer surfaces of the walls of the body of a vehicle received in the opening. In the preferred embodiment, a plurality of spaced outer pockets are provided on the inflatable member, and resilient recoil members are provided in the pockets, the recoil members also being attached to the wall of the building adjacent the perimeter of the opening. The recoil members are formed and positioned so that they are in substantially straightened dispositions wherein they extend inwardly into the opening when the inflatable member is in the expanded disposition thereof and so that they are in resiliently curled or recoiled dispositions wherein they are adjacent the perimeter of the opening when the inflatable member is in the deflated or collapsed disposition thereof. Accordingly, the resilient recoil members add a certain degree of stiffness to the inflatable member when it is in the expanded disposition, and they resiliently retract the inflatable member when it is in the deflated disposition, positioning the inflatable member adjacent the perimeter of the opening. Further, in the preferred embodiment, the inflatable member is provided with an interior retainer partition which extends between the opposite side walls of the inflatable member at intermediate points in the inward extents thereof when the inflatable member is in its inflated disposition to maintain the walls in reduced spaced relation so that the inflatable member extends substantially inwardly into the opening. As a result of the unique structural features of the seal of the instant invention, including the construction of the inflatable member so that it extends inwardly for engagement with the surfaces of the walls of the body of a vehicle, the resilient recoil members which retract the inflatable member, and the retainer partition in the inflatable member, it provides a novel and effective means for sealing the open area between the perimeter of an opening in a wall of a building and the body of a vehicle when the vehicle is received in the opening. Specifically, the inflatable member engages the outer surfaces of the walls of the vehicle when it is in its expanded disposition, and the retainer partition retains the walls of the inflatable member so that the inflatable member extends substantially inwardly into the opening. The resilient recoil members are operable for retracting the inflatable member so that when it is in its deflated disposition, it is retracted and positioned adjacent the perimeter of the opening so that it does not interfere with the movement of the vehicle and so that it is not inadvertently caught or torn during movement of the vehicle into and out of the opening.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the instant invention to provide an effective seal for sealing the open area between the perimeter of an opening in a wall of a building and the body of a vehicle received in the opening.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide an effective seal for sealing the open area between the perimeter of an opening in a wall of a building and the fuselage of an aircraft received in the opening.
A still further object of the instant invention is to provide an inflatable seal for an opening in the wall of a building which includes means for retracting the seal to a position wherein it is disposed adjacent the perimeter of the opening when it is deflated.
An even further object of the instant invention is to provide a seal for an opening in a wall of a building for sealing the open area between the perimeter of the opening and the walls of a vehicle received therein, wherein the seal effectively compensates for minor misalignments of the vehicle body with respect to the opening.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.